Table 3

Key dietary, asymptomatic pathogen and illness exposures by age-based time period

VariableTime period
0–2 months 3–5 months 6–8 months 9–11 months 12–17 months 18–24 months
Growth velocity*
Length (cm/month)3.8 (2.6, 4.9)2.1 (1.3, 3.0)1.3 (0.6, 2.1)1.0 (0.4, 1.8)0.9 (0.6, 1.2)0.8 (0.5, 1.1)
Weight (kg/month)1.1 (0.7, 1.5)0.5 (0.3, 0.8)0.3 (0.1, 0.5)0.2 (0, 0.4)0.2 (0, 0.3)0.2 (0.1, 0.3)
Breast feeding
Exclusive (percent of days)66 (17, 100)28 (0, 85)2 (0, 4)<1 (0, 0)<1 (0, 0)<1 (0, 0)
Predominant (percent of days)12 (0, 44)12 (0, 42)5 (0, 16)2 (0, 8)1 (0, 4)<1 (0, 0)
Any (percent of days)99 (100, 100)97 (100, 100)95 (100, 100)92 (92, 100)81 (4, 100)53 (0, 100)
Complementary food
Dairy (percent of days)15 (0, 60)33 (0, 100)47 (0, 100)52 (2, 100)57 (8, 100)62 (11, 100)
Energy intake (kcal/day)482 (140, 952)628 (239, 1059)865 (407, 1284)
Protein (g/day)15 (4, 31)19 (6, 35)26 (11, 42)
Illness
Antibiotic use (days in period)4 (0, 14)6 (0, 18)7 (0, 18)7 (0, 18)12 (0, 30)10 (0, 26)
Diarrhoea† (episodes in period)0.2 (0, 1)0.4 (0, 1)0.4 (0, 1)0.4 (0, 1)0.7 (0, 2)0.5 (0, 2)
Pathogens in non-diarrhoeal stool
Mean detections/stool0.5 (0, 1.0)0.7 (0, 1.5)1.0 (0, 2.0)1.2 (0.3, 2.0)1.3 (0.5, 2.5)1.3 (0.3, 2.5)
Campylobacter (% with any detection in period)123048594959
EAEC (% with any detection in period)265160604748
Giardia (% with any detection in period)139162548
Atypical EPEC (% with any detection in period)31016211316
LT-ETEC (% with any detection in period)4912161216
Cryptosporidium (% with any detection in period)77710910
  • Mean (10th, 90th percentiles).

  • *Velocities presented in this table are calculated as the difference between the last and first measurements within each period divided by the number of months in same period for each child and then taking the average for the cohort.

  • †Diarrhoea episodes that were not coincident with antibiotic use.

  • EAEC, enteroaggregative Escherichia coli; EPEC, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli; LT-ETEC, LT-producing enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.